Wendy's Revenge
by ddp456
Summary: Sequel to NSTW. Wendy plots a devious payback for the Pines twins, but what will happen when she finally learns they're not the ones at fault? Please leave as many reviews, comments, and suggestions as you can, if you like/dislike. Based upon the works of deviantart artist Wizardan. Cover art by Garabatoz.
1. Chapter 1

*SIGH*

Wendy Corduroy let out a groan as she threw her small frame against the crowbar in her hands. After a few seconds of struggling, the top of the splintered, wooded crate shot open. With this, a gust of dust and dirt came rushing out and struck the unprepared girl in the face, making her cough in response.

"Dude!" she cried in disgust, trying to fight off the involuntary gagging. She turned towards her fellow co-worker, who was easily working his way through his own pile of boxes, "What's the deal with all of these packages anyways? Stan seems to be a spending spurge, huh?"

Soos wiped the sweat away from his brow, and looked back at the red-headed ginger. "Yeah, Mr. Pines has been ordering additional attractions for the new exhibit. It's gotten really popular, but then again…" the gentle giant narrowed his eyes, "…I don't think I have to tell _you_ about that!"

Wendy offered a minor smirk, lowering her head in humiliation, "I know, right…" The last thing that she needed at the moment was yet another reminder of what happened over the last few days. Wendy began to mull over the recent events…

It was only less than a week ago that Tambry, one of Wendy's best and oldest friends, had somehow managed to score tickets to the hottest concerts in town (a relatively BIG deal, concerning the usually extra-quiet tone of their sleepy little burg). However, it was the exact same night in which Wendy was scheduled to work. To make matters worse, her employer, "Grunkle" Stan Pines, had a stance against any staff member missing out of a most-profitable, weekend shift.

In order to get out of her obligation, Wendy had made a perpetual deal with the devil. She had agreed to help model the newest displays for the Mystery Shack's "Famed Torture Devices of Medieval Times" showing in exact for the night of the concert off. Unbeknownst to her, Stan actually intended for Wendy to take the role quite literally – by staring as a barefoot wench. Similar to those poor souls seen at Renaissance Fairs, she was coerced into being padlocked into a set of stocks. For this, Wendy was left virtually helpless as dozens and dozens of sightseers were ignorant to the fact that her plight was _real_.

Regardless of the threat of constant embarrassment, Wendy recalled that the day wasn't all that bad. A few hours into the event, as her boredom began to pile up, she was discovered by Stan's great-niece, Mabel. The metal mouthed girl tried her best to cheer up the gloomy teenager; even going as fall as to prank her timid, kind-hearted twin brother, Dipper, for Wendy's amusement. While Wendy did feel guilty for her (small) involvement in the action, even she had to admit that the sight of the overreacting pre-teen was quite humorous (at least, until people started to stare…).

It was this that led to Dipper to attempt a prank of his own: a "dreaded" round of tickle torture! (as described by Mabel's past experiences) At first, Wendy was able to fend off the attack, but as the gentle bantering and competitiveness between the adolescents rose, something happened. Dipper had managed to break through her defenses, making her squirm uncontrollably in ticklish glee! The last time Wendy felt so vulnerable, she was still a lanky, braced, red-pigtailed twelve year old being pounced on and tormented by three younger, yet burlier brothers. That is not to say that she _secretly_ didn't _enjoy_ Dipper's teasing on any level…

As with all rivalries, sometimes, things can be taken a step too far. Within mere moments, Wendy's pleasure swiftly became excruciating and agonizing _pain_. Her giggling laughter was quickly exchanged for cries and screams! Wendy took a deep breath as the memories of her begging and pleading her young cohort for help filled her mind. She remembered the worried and concerned expression on Dipper's mind as he rushed (with Mabel in tow) to rescue her from the trap.

After her escape, Wendy confronted the two tweens, demanding answers to what had just occurred. There were just too many factors to label the whole experience as a mere coincidence: Dipper's constant mockery; Mabel's "so-called" pedicure; the sight hesitation in opening the pillory. A lot of things didn't make sense.

Despite her best efforts, Wendy was unable to _scare_ an answer out of the Pines twins. Granted, she was slightly glad that she was able to make the kids _literally_ shake in their sneakers, but it wasn't exactly what Wendy was after. As she explained to Dipper and Mabel, she above all people appreciated a good joke or two, but when things went horribly awry, the least that they could have done was apologize for their actions. Nevertheless, the duo continued to insist on their innocence, pledging to the towering teenager that they had no idea about the strange incidence.

It was _this_ that tore Wendy up on the inside. She couldn't believe that her pie-faced friends; friends that Wendy thought that she grew incredibly close to these last few weeks, would fiendishly plot to torture her like that, but at the same time, what other aspect was there to consider? Wendy's heart shattered a bit when thinking this especially of Dipper, the more sensitive and delicate of the two. In her memory, Wendy recollected on the sweet-natured boy, after being deceived into thinking she was in peril, embracing her bound form with a sigh of relief. She also thought of his apparent hesitation when being grilled, only for him to respond with "_Because_; _just because_…" She asked herself with a hint of gloom, "How could this be _my_…err…the same, little Dipper?"

Along with sadness also came great anger, especially when Wendy was reminded of what happened the following night. At long last, she was able to attend the long-awaited, genuinely earned concert with Tambry. Wendy used her tip jar earnings (mainly contributed by Dipper) to pick up an oversized t-shirt and found her row alongside her friend. Nevertheless, due to the physical and mental exhaustion from the day before, Wendy amazingly passed out in her seat, missing the entire show.

In short, her whole horrid experience had been for _naught_!

To make matters worse, when Wendy awoke, she couldn't help but notice that random strangers were laughing and pointing at her as she made her way home. Even her brothers had a case of the snickers as she walked into the house. All was revealed as she went into her bathroom and looked into the mirror.

As Wendy slept, someone (or quite possibly Tambry herself) had taken a black marker and literally graffitied her entire face! Every possible marking could be found on Wendy's visage: smiley-faces, tic-tac-toe games, uni-brows, teardrops by her eyes; there were even lines etched across her freckles in various patterns, looking somewhat reminiscence of Dipper's hidden birthmark on his forehead.

Wendy rested her head against the bathroom mirror and uttered a deep sigh. "Just another cruel joke played on Wendy Corduroy…" She raised her vision to the reflection looking back at her, the saddened stare quickly becoming one with burning emerald eyes.

"…and she's not going to take it anymore!"

"Wendy!"

"Huh?" She was returned immediately to the present. She glanced up to see Soos waving his hand up and down her face.

"You all right, dude? I've been calling for you for the last two minutes!"

Wendy shook her head, trying to clear her heavy thoughts, "Yeah, just mulling things over…So, what's going on?"

"Craziest thing! We just got in another three crates! Mr. Pines must be going all out on the new exhibit!

Wendy simply rolled her eyes at her friend's overexcitement. "Oh, joy…" she muttered in pure sarcasm. As she started to open another box, her mind began to wander once more.

Even though it was petty, Wendy just couldn't get the experience out of her mind. In spite of the fact that the twins were walking on eggshells trying to avoid her (more likely, to _avoid her wrath_), she simply couldn't bring herself to let things be. Sure, it was funny watching the Pines twins recoil in fear every time that she stepped into the room, but in truth, nothing was going to come of it.

Besides, if there's one lesson that Wendy learned at an early age as a Corduroy woman, it was to "not get mad, but to get _even_!"

But the question remained, "But how?" Wendy didn't want to do anything to hurt the twins, while keeping in mind she had no intention of letting them get away without as much as a simple apology. Returning to the task at hand, Wendy put her weight against another container, making sure to cover her face to avoid another draught of filth from entering her lungs.

Wendy pulled her head back, and examined the contents inside of the package. A small gleam began to form in her emerald eyes as she pushed aside the cushioning to gain a better view of the object kept within. The wheels in Wendy's head started to turn as a plan formed in her mind's eye. A sly smile slowly crept onto her dimpled expression.

"Hey, Soos?"

The man-child pulled himself from out of a crate to face Wendy.

"Quick question for ya: When exactly does Stan need all of this stuff up and ready?"

"Hmm…" Soos muttered, heavy in thought, as he put his hand against his chin. "Well…Mr. Pines said that he wanted everything to be up before the weekend rush, so I figure we got a day or two…"

"Great!" Wendy exclaimed, making her co-worker wonder about her sudden giddiness. As Soos shrugged and went back to his chores, Wendy started nodding to herself, plotting out a new course of action.

"Hope Stan doesn't mind if I borrow this for a while…"

(_the next day_…)

"C'mon, Dipper! You're going to be left behind!"

Dipper Pines walked slowly behind the two females leading him deep in the lush, green Gravity Falls forest. While his twin sister Mabel excitedly marched next his secret crush Wendy, Dipper had chosen to trail at a deliberately slow pace. This way, he could easily analyze the path for anything that looked suspicious. All of a sudden, Mabel whispered something to Wendy, and started to slow down, in order to converse with her slightly younger brother.

"Yeah, Dip! What's the hold-up?" asked the metal mouthed munchkin as she poked carelessly at her on-edge sibling. "I thought that _you of all people_ would be excited about this!"

"I guess…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno, Mabel. Something just…it doesn't feel right!"

Mabel waved a tiny hand at his concern, "Oh, quit being a worry-wart! Everything's just fine! Besides, don't you remember what Wendy said?"

He looked past his sister to see that Wendy, while quite a distance ahead, turned her head back to see what the twins were up to. Dipper could see the picnic basket that she carried swayed back and forth in conjunction with her momentum. As her emerald green eyes met Dipper's brown ones, she offered a tiny smile, and gently waved at the downtrodden boy with her free hand. Dipper laughed nervously to himself, and shyly returned the gesture.

"Yeah…I remember _exactly_ what she said…"

Earlier that day, the twins were assigned Gift Shop duty at the Mystery Shack. Mabel swept the floors and laser-lined the inventory while Dipper manned the register. Overall, it had been a relatively slow afternoon. Unexpectedly, the front door swung open as the bell hanging ahead chimed.

"What's up, dorks?"

"WENDY!" Dipper screeched in nervous reaction. "What are you doing here?!"

She lowered her eyes at the dramatizing male, "Umm…I work here?"

As Wendy took a few more steps into the Shack, Mabel abruptly ended her chores and rejoined her brother by his side. The closer Wendy came, the more the twins quivered in fear. The lanky teenager stopped in her tracks.

"Actually, I came to talk to you guys about…well…" Wendy expanded her arms at the duo, "…THIS!"

Dipper and Mabel confusingly glanced at each other, and swiftly reverted attention back on the redhead in front of them.

"Okay. I'll admit it. At first, it was fun watching you guys flip out every time I'd walk into a room, but now, it's getting kinda _sad_…"

The pair lowered their guard as Wendy continued.

"Anyways, I miss hanging out with you guys…a lot, so let's say we call it a truce, huh? Try to get things 'back to normal?'"

Small grins formed on the Pines twins' faces.

"As a tiny peace offering, I've planned a celebratory picnic just for the three of us just past the clearing in the Gravity Falls woods. Sooo…what do you guys say? Are you up for it?"

Dipper, still contemplating, started to question, "Well…"

"YAY! Pic-nic! Pic-nic! Pic-nic!" interrupted his slightly older sister.

"It's settled then!" Wendy declared with delight. "I'll meet you guys in front of the Shack when you're done with your shift." She opened and walked back out the exit, "Later, dweebs!"

"Bye, Wendy!" Mabel waved with boundless enthusiasm. Dipper, however, still unhinged by the recent event, hopped from behind the counter, and took off after his unusually tall secret love.

"Wendy?"

The teenager stopped in her tracks. "Hmm?"

Dipper slowly approached, ever so careful to remain on his guard. He rubbed the back of his head as he attempted to stutter out a response, "H-Hey, listen…I wanted to talk to you for a second…I mean…about what happened the other night…"

The freckled faced girl let out a small laugh, "Dude, forget about it! It's all in the past!"

Dipper's eyes lowered to the ground as he continued to push the issue, "Yeah; you keep saying that, but I want to make sure that you're alright. When you left, you seemed pretty p-"

The child was quickly silenced as Wendy lowered herself to his level to meet him eye to eye. She held an index finger against her lips, "Shhh…"

"But, Wendy…"

Dipper gasped as her green eyes widened and a devious smile stretched across her dimpled face. "Not – another – word…"

A sensation of fear began to travel down Dipper's spine. He felt at that moment the same as when he and Mabel were cornered by a deeply scorned Wendy, who blamed the siblings for her predicament. Dipper was so frightened that he _almost_ gave away his biggest secret – his true feelings for the fifteen-year old. However, he couldn't bring himself to do so, miserable in the irony that that particular truth might have proven the twins' innocence.

Dipper forced himself to make some form of response, "Oh…okay, then. I guess…I'll see you later…then?"

Wendy rose back to her feet and nodded along with Dipper's words, "Sounds great." He watched as she walked back towards the pathway leading to her house. She turned her head and offered a small wave, "See you soon, little guy!"

Dipper, dead silent, gave a return wave until Wendy vanished from sight. It was at that moment that the alarms in his head were _blaring_! "Something's not right…" he whispered to himself, replaying the events in his mind. While he wanted nothing more than Wendy's forgiveness (despite not being guilty of the accused crime); nothing more than for everything to be "back to normal" as Wendy put it earlier, but yet, there was something "off" about his friend.

A collection of images from the last few days flowed through his subconscious: Wendy's tear-filled laughing face as he playfully tortured her; her pained, anguished expression as he struggled to free her from the prison Stan had blackmailed her into; her blank, emotionless look complete with emerald eyes burning as she interrogated Mabel and him. He contrasted those with the appearance of the girl held dear to his heart from a moment ago. In Dipper's eyes, it was almost as if someone was wearing a "Wendy" mask, using her voice, and acting with her mannerisms,  
but simultaneously, it just didn't seem like _his Wendy_.

It was too late to do anything about it now. She was going to be waiting for him after work, plus Mabel was basically going to twist his arm into going to the picnic.

What choice did he have?

"DIPPER!"

"Huh?!" the boy lifted his head, being awakened from deep thought.

"Wendy says we're here!"

Dipper looked to see that they arrived at a huge flat plain hidden between a circle of incredibly tall pine trees. The sunbeams reflected a form of gentle green light down upon the three adolescents, yet provided a proper supply of shade. Wendy opened the wicker basket and pulled out a checkerboard-colored blanket, spreading it evenly against the grassy knoll. The three friends made themselves comfortable as Wendy began to empty the contents of the basket.

"Let's see here: I have tons of turkey, ham, or pastrami sandwiches; umm…bags of chips; original, cheesy, or sour cream n' onion; a bit of leftover coleslaw and potato salad, and yeah, plenty of Pitt Cola!"

Dipper watched as both Mabel and Wendy filled their paper plates and plastic cups fill of bountiful goodies. His stomach groaned at the sight of the substance in front of him. Dipper was very cautious to start eating. After all, what if all of this was some sort of revenge prank that Wendy that plotted from the very beginning? Perhaps the potato salad was filled with red-hot Tabasco sauce? Or just maybe, a worm had managed to wiggle its way into a random sandwich (or two…)?

He watched in quiet awe as the two young ladies went to town, nosily sampling all of the contents of the picnicked lunch, totally forsaking any or all table manners. Within seconds, Mabel and Wendy were laughing among themselves, going back and forth in a belching contest. Dipper chuckled at the sight, as for some reason, it reminded him of the cute fact that no matter where his secret crush was stationed at work, she _always_ had an array of junk food hidden away within reasonable reach.

After seeing that the food had no negative effect on either female, Dipper stealthily swooped up a turkey sandwich. Without making himself noticeable, he quickly sniffed his food to confirm his suspicions. Closing his eyes, Dipper reached over and took a minimal nibble from his food. He opened an eyelid in shock.

It was delicious!

Baby-bites soon became massive chomps as the withheld pre-teen joined in with the girls in devouring the various contents of Wendy's pre-packed lunch. A few minutes later, the red and black blanket was totally emptied, with the exception of three groaning, full-bellied young adults.

"Arrgghhh!" moaned Mabel, clutching her stomach. "I think I'm going to explode!"

Dipper followed suit, "Ditto for me!" he lamented, struggling to find the strength to raise his hand in response.

Wendy rose to her knees and crawled towards her tan basket, "Ugh…I think I have just the thing!"

The twins watched as Wendy fumbled the remains of the container, and shortly retrieved a black thermos. She twisted off the top, and smelled the beverage, making her sigh in relief. She poured the solution in three plastic cups, passing one each to Dipper and Mabel.

The aroma stirred in Mabel's nostrils. "Hmmm…smells yummy…"

The same smell also overcame Dipper, actually calming his nerves for the first time today. He carefully sipped his drink. "This is great, Wendy! What is it?"

"Oh?" Wendy said in between her own slurps. "It's a secret tea blend that my family really loves…" She paused to take another gulp. "It's really good for helping with stomach-aches…such as this one…" Wendy pointed at her own gut.

Dipper looked over to see his sister nosily gulping her tea. She raised her cup to salute her friend, "Today…*BURP* was excellent! Here's to Wendy!"

Nodding in agreement, Dipper raised his hand as well, "To _our_ Wendy!"

The redheaded girl blushed and laughed in response, "Stop it, you guys!" She reached once more for the thermos. "Can I top anyone off?"

Both Pines twins raced to get a refill of the delicious elixir. Within a few moments, the container was bone dry.

Wendy stretched her arms over her head and released a loud, yet contagious *YAWN*. "Man!" she exclaimed. "Anyone else feeling a bit run down?"

Mabel replied with a cute, baby-sized yawn of her own. "I hear ya, sister. I guess this is what we get for pigging out like crazy!"

Wendy happily sighed to herself once again, scooting back a few inches until she reached a tree. She leaned against its trunk, relaxing her entire frame. She closed her eyes, and started to drift in and out of consciousness.

"You know…" Mabel said, observing her friend. "That's not a bad idea…" With that, she crawled over to Wendy's side and began to slip away into slumber as well. Sensing the pint-size girl nearly, Wendy put her right arm around Mabel, as if to cradle her.

Although Dipper was feeling the same post-feasting effect, he struggled to remain vigilant. He _had_ to stay awake. He watched the peaceful scene of her sister and his hidden love sleeping side by side in an adorable fashion. He also knew about the creepy oddities and dangerous menaces that roamed the Gravity Falls woods. Dipper had no intention of letting anything happen to the two people he cared for the most. He rested his weary head onto his knees, only to arise again and again.

"Dipper…"

He looked towards the flannel-donning girl uttering his name. She patted the pant leg opposite of where Mabel was lying. Wendy uttered through closed eyes, "It's okay, Dipper…come rest with me…for a few moments…"

Despite his best efforts, the tiny boy finally gave it to temptation. He just couldn't resist Wendy's calling out (_for him_). As he nestled on her left side, Dipper could feel long fingers running through his thick brown hair. With eyes half open, he glanced up to see Wendy, half-asleep herself, beaming down angelically towards the pre-teen. As Dipper surrendered to beckoning sleep, he could have sworn that he heard Wendy whisper in his ear,

"Sweet dreams…"

As Dipper slept, all of the regular, nightly imagery of fighting the supernatural elements of Gravity Falls was nowhere to be found. In the dreamscape, he was presented with a mirror image of what was occurring in the real world. Only in this scenario, it was just Wendy and himself on a hilltop, once more, leaning against a solitary tree. Gone were her trademark trapper hat, flannel shirt and blue jean combo, and stained lumberjack boots, instead replaced with straighten red hair, a light emerald green sun dress, and bare feet.

Even though his own eyes were closed, Dipper could still see the entire scene through a third person perspective. He watched as Wendy, her own eyes shut lightly, continued to massage his scalp gently. Dipper could feel a delicate, warm wind caress his face. All he could hear was Wendy humming a pleasant tune, very similar to tone to that of a lullaby into his ear.

Dipper could not recall a time in _his whole life_, yet alone while in Gravity Falls, where he felt so serene and at peace. He thought to himself, "Maybe Mabel was right; maybe Wendy _did_ want things to go back to the way they were." For once, Dipper was truly glad that he was dead wrong about a hunch.

He opened his eyes to see Wendy's smiling, dimpled-freckled face staring down at him. Suddenly, almost like slow motion, she began to address him. However, something was _horribly wrong_. Instead of Wendy's "naturally-sweetened" voice coming out of her mouth, it was the same high-pitched shrill of his twin sister:

"DIPPER! WAKE UP, DIPPER! NOW!"

"Huh?!" Precipitously, a bright light flashed before the tween's eyes!

He opened his eyes to the awakening world, still somewhat staggered. Trying to find his way through the blurriness, Dipper noticed that he was in a sitting-up position. Was he still by Wendy's side against the tree trunk? A hard shove came from his left side.

"About time you woke up!"

Dipper's eyesight cleared, revealing the sight of his braced twin sister.

"Mabel…ugh…what's going on?"

The high-spirited girl used her hands to illustrate, "See for yourself!"

Dipper, fighting his grogginess, gasped in horror at the sight before him. He wasn't sitting still; he was _forced_ into that position. Someone had trapped his legs (as well as Mabel's) into a giant wooden frame. He looked around to see that that same person had placed them on a padded, yet properly elevated bench to avoid severe discomfort. Dipper shook his head in denial as he came to a realization.

The twins had been locked into a conjoined pair of stocks; the exact same type that Wendy had been tricked into only a few days ago!

Using his hands, Dipper tried to push against the top of the pillory, hoping that his tiny legs would slide out. Unfortunately, his ankles became caught on every attempt of escape. Beaten, he sunk back into his prison. "Well, I'm stuck tight…" He turned to his sister. "How about you?"

Mabel tried her best to squirm out of the trap that she had placed into. As with Dipper, she groaned at her setback, "Ugh…ditto…"

Dipper noticed that something shiny poked out of the side of the device. Dipper reached over to see that (as with Wendy's situation) a silver padlock was added to prevent him from easily opening the latch within his reach. Whoever their captor was, they made it crystal clear that they wanted Dipper and Mabel in that spot for a long while…

As Dipper continued to examine their confinement, a voice came out of the evergreen:

"Well, wakey, wakey, eggs, and bakey!"

Dipper squinted his eyes to see the figure coming out of the shade. Upon recognition, he could only mutter, "No…"

"How's it hanging, guys?" Wendy asked as she appeared from the shadows, donning a devilish grin.

"Wendy!" Mabel cried out in total surprise. "YOU did this to US?"

The gingered teen crossed her arms and continued to walk further into the light. "Don't be so surprised. After all, I'm only giving your guys a taste of your own medicine…"

"OHMANOHMANOHMAN!" stammered a super-panicked Dipper. "I knew it…I just knew it! Everything was _too good_ to be true…" The young detective lowered his head, his trademark blue and white cap covering his shattered eyes.

"But how?" asked a confused Mabel. "Where did you get all this stuff?"

"Oh, that part's easy…" Wendy answered with a sly tone in her voice. "Your 'Grunkle' Stan ordered way more stuff for the new exhibit, including this _child-sized_ pillory which tourists can take their pictures in."

Wendy came closer and closer while detailing her story, "As soon as I unpacked this baby from its crate, I knew I had a perfect way to even the score. After dragging this junk out here, the only other thing I needed to do was find an excuse to get you guys out here, where it's just the three of us, and more importantly, how to get you two to go "beddy-bye" for a little while…"

Mabel winced an eye at the bragging redhead, "But, I don't understand…"

Dipper sighed to himself, "The tea…"

Mabel pounded the top of the wooded barrier with her tiny fists. "Of course! The tea! _My only weakness!_"

Dipper raised his head in disbelief, "Wendy…y-you _spiked_ our drinks? You _poisoned_ us?"

Wendy blew a raspberry at the freaked-out captive, "I did nothing of the sort, fella. Remember, I drank it, too! It's not my fault you guys can't handle your chamomile tea – _the sleepiest of all teas_!"

Mabel, with the fear building in her eyes, glanced at her brother, and then returned her attention towards Wendy, "S-S-So…what are you going to do to us?"

Wendy giggled at her friend's earnest question, "Nothing to seriously fret over, Mabel. Remember what I said that night at the exhibit? It's kind of a code that we Corduroys carry around. Why stay mad when it's _more fun to get even_?"

The lanky teen was now right in front of the stock holding Dipper and Mabel at a standstill. The twins started to feel an odd sensation. Wendy was removing their shoes and socks!

"Wendy, stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Dipper pleaded.

"Yeah, Wendy!" encouraged his sister. "Dipper _doesn't_ bathe, ya know!"

"MABEL!"

"So…" Wendy clarified. "I figure that it's only fair that you guys go through _everything_ I had to that night!" She started to reach down with her fingers extended and wiggling, making the twins struggle in vain…only to pull back at the last moment.

"However…" she said with a sly grin on her face. "Let the record show that I am a _fair_ woman; far be it from _cruel_ in nature. For this, you guys are going to sit there for a while, and think about what you did…"

Wendy started to walk away from the imprisoned kids, only to slightly rotate her head,

"…unless…"

A ray of hope could be seen on both twins' faces.

"…you guys come clean _here_ and _now_! I want to hear it from both of you that you were behind the craziness from the other night! You don't even have to explain how! All I want is a "I'm sorry, Wendy," and we'll forget the whole thing happened!"

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other hopelessly.

"…I swear it…"

Dipper took a deep breath, and started, "But, Wendy…"

Mabel speedily interrupted her younger brother, "It's true! I confess! I confess to everything!"

Both Dipper and Wendy raised an eyebrow to Mabel's claim.

"_I _let Waddles eat your hidden stash of chips under the gift shop counter! _I_ sneak a few dollars from your tip jar to buy candy! _I'm_ the one that leaves the toilet seat up in the customer bathroom!"

Wendy was completely floored by the little girl's words. "Wow…well, I mean…apology accepted, I guess…"

Her attention became centered on Dipper, who remained silent throughout the confession. "And what about you, Dipper? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mabel looked back on Dipper, as he hanged his head, and took a deep inhale.

"My answer is the same as it was that night, Wendy: I didn't do this to you. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Wendy…"

"Oh, Dipper…" moaned Mabel, striking her palm against her forehead in disappointment.

"Can't say I didn't give you a chance, dweeb…" Dipper dropped his head in defeat.

As Wendy attempted to walk away once more, she heard something that made her anger-filled heart shatter.

"_Please believe me! Please, Wendy_; _don't do this_!"

With her back turned, Wendy forced herself to bit her lip to remain firm. Of course, he was going to say something to make her teary-eyed. Of course, he was going say something to make her question her motives. However, it _still_ doesn't explain what happened that night. It didn't answer why he hesitated when she queried him the first time.

Wendy headed towards the exit of the clearing when she overhead something very interesting.

"Don't worry, Dipper! You still have the President's Key from Quentin Trembley, right? That means you can open the lock!"

With a grin on her face, Wendy popped out of the woodwork. "You guys know _I'm still here_, right?"

Mabel let out a small "EEP!" and covered her mouth, as Dipper raised his head to chastise his big-mouthed sister, "MABEL!"

"So…" Wendy asked, slowly making her way back towards the pillory. "What's this about a magic key?" Instantly, her thoughts filled with the memories of her incident. She remembered thrashing against her own harsh restraints while filled with excruciating pain, Dipper reached for her hand, pledging that he would help her. It was then when Dipper took off (making Wendy's heart sink), only to quickly return branding a giant golden key; the same key that Dipper used to finally release her from her torment.

The lanky teenager slowly approached her incarcerated friends. "I can…only guess…where you have it…hidden…" With playful glee, Wendy poked towards Dipper's blue vest. In response, Dipper defiantly crossed his arms across his chest, in an attempt to keep his only means of escape safe.

Wendy jumped behind the stocks where her secret admirer sat, making him jump in anxious reflex.

"Hey, what are you do-"

She hopped from foot to foot across Dipper's backside, trying to poke and prod at his pockets. The boy tried to turn from side to side (despite his limitations), trying to prevent his secret love from stealing his treasure.

"Wendy, what-

Stop it! That tickles!

Get away! You're not getting it!

Stop it, Wendy! It's not funny!"

He could hear the ginger cackle whole-heartedly in his ears. "Are you kidding? I'm having a blast!"

After a few minutes of going back and forth, Wendy was finally able to reach into Dipper's pocket and snag the huge key. Clutching her prize, she proudly waved to the determined young adult, "Uh-Uh, Dipper! No early parole today!" As she pocketed the item, Wendy made her exit, only to leave her victims with some encouraging words:

"Don't worry, guys! I'll be back before dusk! Besides, you'll be nice and comfy in the shade, plus there's no one around for miles, so you won't be bothered! Hopefully, you guys will change your tune by then…"

When Wendy vanished from sight, Dipper threw his head down against the woodwork, grumbling to himself in total and utter defeat. Suddenly, Dipper heard Mabel call out to him,

"You know, Dipper…"

He slightly raised his head to meet his sister staring down at him.

"…we wouldn't be in this mess if you would have just told your _girlfriend_ how much you _looooved_ her…"

The boy sunk back down into his depression.

"Just…just shut up…"


	2. Chapter 2

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Mr. Pines? Soos?"

Wendy slowly opened the family entrance of the Mystery Shack, carefully peeking her head through. Luckily for her, Stan wasn't found at his usual resting place in his recliner stationed in front of the television.

"Huh? They must be out and about in town…" she pondered to herself. "Perfect…"

She ran fleet-footed up the staircase leading to the second floor. The worn floorboards creaked nosily under her boots as Wendy made her way to her destination. She stopped at the door labeled with a hand-made sign: "Dipper and Mabel." Wendy figured that the craft was probably Mabel's doing.

Wendy carefully turned the doorknob, trying to avoid making the old house groan at her every moment. She looked over the twins' bedroom. As odd as it sounded, considering the amount of time she spend with the pre-teens, this was her first time seeing their room.

The small attic space was split into two. On the left side of the area, collections of older Mystery Shack articles and attractions took up place, completely covered in cobwebs. On her right, Wendy seen two thinly laid beds positioned against different walls. Simply by looking at the items surrounding them, Wendy was certainly able to recognize which side belonged to which twin.

Against the right wall, light purple coverings enclosed both mattress and pillows. Posters of all the latest boy bands hung proudly on the wall besides it. Piles of teen love novels and "rom-coms" seemed to stem from beneath the bed.

Wendy simply shook her head and sighed, "Mabel…" With that, she turned around and looked at her target. Besides her stood an orange-enclosed bed messily made up. Several booksand crinkly notes were sprawled across. Maps were hung on the wall, marked constantly with circles, Xs, and illegible notes scribbled throughout. Wendy simply smiled and uttered silently to herself, "And here's Dipper's…"

She sat on the bed and pulled out the President's Key that she had snatched from Dipper to prevent his escape. Wendy placed the artifact gently on Dipper's nightstand. After all, she had no intention of stealing from her friend. Noticing the light shining out of the cracked window, Wendy rose to her feet and looked outside, where she stared into the skyline, where the Gravity Falls forest seemed to span out to an eternity. A sense of guilt began to creep into the back of Wendy's mind as she thought about her two friends…

"NO!" she cried as she forced herself away from the sight giving her doubts. It wasn't like she was trying to hurt them. Heck, she wasn't even going to lower herself to a new level and torture the Pines twins the same way they did to her. At the end of the day, all they were basically doing is sitting out in the woods safely and peacefully. Wendy figured it to be an ultimate form of "time-out." After all, that was the point. She just to show that there were certain lines that Dipper and Mabel couldn't cross and expect to be able to get away with it (despite being pie-faced, wide-eyed cuties).

As Wendy turned to leave, she heard something trample underfoot. She lifted her foot see that she had accidentally stepped on one of Dipper's crumpled notes leading from underneath his bed. Wendy was going to simply overstep it and be on her way, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something that made this piece of paper unique from all of the others on Dipper's portion of the room.

At the top of this uncarted sheet, were the words, "_Dear Wendy_…"

Wendy now found herself at a standstill. She figured that she had already done enough (justified) damage by her "prank" than to go and start invading Dipper's privacy. That being said, it _did_ have _her name_ on it, and how many other Wendys were there in his life?

Holding her breath, Wendy picked up the questionable note, and sat on Dipper's bed. She quickly unraveled the item and read its contents. After finishing, Wendy gasped and put her hand to her chest, as it felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of her lungs…

"I'm serious, Dipper!"

"Leave it alone, Mabel!"

"No! Why don't you just do it? Why can't you tell her how you really feel? What's the worst thing that could happen?"

Dipper found himself between a rock and a hard place (literally). He really didn't want to have this conservation with his twin. More than anything, he wanted to get away from this scene, so that he wouldn't be bothered by such things, especially with the growing turmoil of feelings rising from within his being. It wasn't bad enough that Wendy (_his Wendy_ nonetheless) had locked him into this device regardless of his pleading with her, but to make matters worse, he was trapped alongside his super-inquisitive sister, who was unwilling to back away from the matter. Aggravated, he simply slumped down in his seat, and started to open up.

"You of all people really have to ask that? Especially with everything that has happened today?"

Mabel raised an eyebrow to her brother's claim, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dipper raised his hands into the air, "It means what it means!" As he started to cool down, he lowered himself, and began to elaborate.

"It's just that…I don't get it, Mabel. Why is it that _anything_ that involves Wendy seems to backfire?"

Mabel tried to shoo away her brother's concern, "Come on, Dipper; it's not _that_ bad…"

Dipper sighed to himself, "Yeah, Mabel; it is..." He lowered his head sadly. "Can we just forget about it? You just don't understand…"

A hint of anger became apparent in Mabel's tone, "You know what? If everything is as deep and complicated as you make it out to be, then, why don't you explain it to me?" The young girl crossed her arms and stared point blank at her sulking sibling.

Dipper let out a groan, and then restarted his explanation. "It's like this, Mabel: anytime I try to do something to get close to Wendy, it always gets ruined somehow. It's like the whole world comes gunning for me, and I don't know why exactly."

Mabel tried to change the direction of the discussion, "That's not always true, Dipper. Remember your complicated list-thingie? Or how you had the perfect chance to dance with her, but you didn't. That has nothing to do with chance or destiny. That's on _you_!"

Dipper became irate again, "You don't think I know that! I'm sorry, but yeah, Mabel, even I get scared sometimes!"

The pre-teen grew silent and closed his eyes, somewhat regretful of his outburst. Part of him was expecting his sister to try to comfort him. Instead, he heard muffled snickers coming from right next to him. He opened an eye to see his twin covering her mouth, trying to fight a series of giggles. Her puffy cheeks were turning beet red. Annoyed, he asked Mabel, "What?!"

Mabel brought herself under control, "That…is…so…precious! Big, bad Dipper has no problem taking on ghosts, goblins, and monsters, but yet, is deathly afraid of what modern-day Pippi Longstocking thinks of him! Hilarious!"

Dipper turned away from the mockery. "That's not funny, Mabel! And besides, it was just the one time!" He recalled that Mabel did not know the full story of what exactly happened the night of the Mystery Shack party; of how he created a legion of clones to better his chances of being by Wendy's side. By the end of the night, his creation had revolted against him, and was left with the lesson that he had to be a bit braver when concerning Wendy. For this, he changed his tone towards Mabel.

"I'm talking about every other time, like when I was assistant lifeguard, or when we were at the Mystery Shack fair; it's stuff like that that bugs me!"

Mabel was about to open her mouth to mount a counter-argument, when she quickly closed it. She came to the insight that Dipper had subtle meanings in his examples. In this case, both instances involved _her_! Dipper lost his lifeguard position because he had let Mabel steal pool equipment in order to help save her merman friend, Mermando. The second instance struck Mabel a bit harder. After all, she would never forget how Dipper sacrificed a (possible) good future with Wendy in order to ensure that she would end up with her beloved pet pig, Waddles.

The thoughts totally changed Mabel's demeanor. The tiny tween began to get watery-eyed. Dipper started to notice his sister's transformation. Before he could question it, Mabel started to sputter out,

"It's because of _me_, right? That's what you meant, isn't it…_I_ made you give up your chance with Wendy…"

Dipper reached over and placed his arm around Mabel's shoulder, "It's not like that…" She looked up at his dark brown eyes, "…like I said that day, '_I could never break your heart, Mabel_,' and yeah, I still mean that!"

The elder twin gave off a metal-mouthed grin that stretched from ear-to-ear.

"But this is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about! The only way for me to have a chance with Wendy is to totally ruin your life? What kind of sick joke is that? That's not a fair choice; that's fate being unbelievably cruel!"

Mabel nodded along with her brother's words. She was starting to understand his point of view. Unfortunately, she really didn't have an answer for him. She did know that a string of bad luck always did seem to follow Dipper around for some reason. Surely, even _he_ deserved to catch a break every once in a while…right?

Dipper laughed to himself pitifully as he reflected on Mabel's choice words, "And you wonder why I think it isn't the best idea to tell Wendy the truth about everything?" He scoffed under his breath. "Chances are, it would make things even worse!"

Wendy sat back on Dipper's orange covered bed and continuously re-read the halfway-ruined paper in her hands. She stared at the words on the page in a form of shock. A rumbling feeling started to form at the pit of her stomach. Wendy was left totally speechless, despite not having another soul around to observe it. It was an oddly pieced note, covered in scratch-outs and markings, complete with footnotes scribbled alongside the main text. She could barely make out the nearly-illegible scripts except for a few things, such as "_use more 'pleases,' no run-on sentences, try not to use the 'l' word_." It was as if an English teacher had proof-read the piece, making corrections as they went, in an attempt to make it absolutely perfect. Once again, she began to read the trashed note to herself:

_"Dear Wendy,_

_I know this may seem like a stupid idea, but I was wondering, maybe one day after work, do you think that you and I could possibly go see a movie together? If it helps, it can be anything that you want to see. I would be just happy to be able to spend time with you. If you're interested, let me know, okay?_

_Love,  
Dipper."_

She placed the newly-discovered treasure right next to her on the bed. It was a letter than Dipper addressed to her, but for some reason, he never delivered it. Was he afraid to? Wendy couldn't understand why would he be? She probably would have gone ahead with him anyway. After all, it was only just a movie. This made Wendy question when exactly was the letter written? Perhaps this was Dipper's olive branch for what happened the other night. If he would have gone ahead with this offer, maybe she would have let him off the hook.

As Wendy contemplated all of this, the guilt slowly crawling back up her backside, a thought flashed though her mind. With a smile, she slid off of the bed, and sat on the floor with her legs crossed. Wendy lifted the bed sheet up to peek under the bed.

There were _dozens_ of rolled up notes. Wendy bit her lip, as she wondered, "Were _all of these_ addressed to _me_?" Granted, she was standing at the threshold of crossing another line, but her curiosity was just too great to ignore.

With great giddiness, Wendy excitedly reached out and opened another discarded message. She quietly read it aloud:

_"Dear Wendy,_

_I have a confession to make. All night, through the course of the party, all I wanted was to ask you to dance with me. It's just that…the right moment didn't present itself…_

_Okay; I lied back there. There were plenty of chances to ask you, but for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's nothing against you, Wendy, but I just got scared. And because I was afraid, I probably missed out on one of the greatest moments in my life._

_Perhaps, one day, if you find it into your heart to forgive me, just maybe, we can have that dance one day…_

_Love,  
Dipper."_

Wendy's heart sunk deep into her chest as she finished the letter. At first, she thought she had found the smoking gun that proved the twins' guilt over the prank, but as soon as "the party" was mentioned, the image of a quiet, distant Dipper from the day of the Mystery Stack party burned into her mind. She had questioned why the young boy had changed from playful and joking to extremely discreet and silent. Wendy found herself incredibly humbled that a mere dance would have meant the world to her small friend, and for more that he felt the need to be forgiven, as if he had let her down in some capacity.

The guilty sensation started to sneak up again. Wendy started to remember how she left Dipper hanging at the ticket counter, so she could hang out inside with Robbie. As Wendy deliberated more about that night, she too had a moment of regret as well. Perhaps she should have paid closer attention to the small pre-teen before her; that something was obviously wrong. She also came to a realization about her own life,

"Wait…Robbie didn't even bother to ask me to dance once…"

Feeling a bit down, Wendy went to claim a third note, hanging on edge about what other hidden truths had fate placed under Dipper's bed in wait for her. To her surprise, this particular one was different from all of the others. It was a song! She couldn't believe it; Dipper had secretly written her a song just for her! Wendy read through the lyrics, whistling to herself in an effort to find the matching melody:

_ "Come with me, to my favorite fantasy  
where there's so little gravity that you cling to me.  
And I will face all the monsters in the lake  
just to hold your hand and take you to the movies.  
Wendy, girl, you move me more than you know  
and I'm okay to take things slow."*_

Wendy was fully taken aback by the sight before her. Robbie hadn't even tried to do the same for her, and he was a bona fide musician (…in a way). While she knew the tune was supposed to be a secret, a side of her wanted to rush up to Dipper and ask him to finish the song. Was this supposed to be accompanied with the proposal of going to the movies? She gently placed the newly flattened page onto of his bed, and continued on through the hidden archive.

_"Dear Wendy,_

_I just wanted to make sure that you were alright after what happened today. To be honest, I'm not sure what I feel worse about: not being able to win you the stuffed creature of indeterminate species that you really wanted, or the fact that I gave you a black eye trying to do so._

_Either way, I don't blame you for being upset with me. I figured that by the way you ran off with Robbie without even saying goodbye that you were probably steamed with me. That's okay, though. I had it coming…"_

Wendy stopped reading for a second to think about Dipper's words. It really wasn't like that at all! (was it?) She had no hard feelings over the accident at the fair. Besides, it was her idea to ask Dipper to try to win it; it wasn't like he was trying to show off or anything like that! However, the comment about Robbie hit a nerve within her. To be fair, it wasn't like she had purposely gone off with Robbie. It was more like she was dragged away by the excited goth. Still, she should have at least said _something_ to the guilt-laden boy she left behind waiting for her to return. Dipper, of all people, deserved better treatment than that; he wouldn't have done that to her if the roles were reversed. Wendy sadly muttered to herself, "Just another instance to chalk up to doing "stupid teenage things…"

Ever determined, she finished the letter,

_"…Still, that's not important to me. You are. It may sound dumb, but I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Wendy. I hope you know that. After all, I ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ love you._

_Please remember that, no matter what happens._

_Love,  
Your Dipper."_

The split second Wendy finished the last word on Dipper's note, her memory shot back to the night of the exhibit opening, to where she confronted a frightened pair of twins pleading for their innocence. Dipper bravely stood before her, his big, soft brown eyes staring upwards, and tried his best to spit out the words:

_"I wouldn't do something so terrible because I lo-" _

Wendy sat back and finished the sentence for the pre-teen in her thoughts, "Because _I love you_…"

Upon that, Wendy lowered her head into her lap, tears gathering in her eyes, truly uncertain what to think about all of this, or more importantly, what course of action she should take next. She moaned to herself, "Oh, man…" as the two sides of her mind duked it out. The sensitive side of Wendy argued that this was the proof that she was looking for: Dipper just had to be truly innocent! The more practical part fought back, noting that while being the object of Dipper's secret love was heartwarming, this doesn't excuse what happened to her at all!

Frustrated by the possible "maybes and maybe nots," Wendy kicked the frame of Dipper's bed in irritation, making all the objects shift slightly. As her vision returned to Dipper's secret stash of love filled notes that she didn't have the heart to read further into, Wendy noticed something _different_ that had just appeared. She figured it must have happened when her tantrum moved the giant mound of crumpled papers. Wendy reached back under the bed to pull out and examine the oddity.

It was a dust covered white sealed envelope. Wendy guessed that it was probably tossed among the pigsty under Dipper's bed. She flipped the item over to see that the front was marked "BOY," in a totally different set of handwriting than the one that addressed the letters that she had been reading. Wendy wondered to herself, since by the way the envelope was buried, did Dipper even know it was there?

At first, Wendy was going to simply put the letter back, but while holding it, uneasiness quelled her insides. Something didn't feel right. Sitting on the balls of her feet, Wendy reached over to Dipper's nightstand and turned on his lamp. Carefully, she held the envelope under the bright light, hoping to gain a clue to the mystery. Upon a few moments, Wendy was able to make out a brief part of the message, making her gasp in horror.

Through the light, she saw the words, "…YOUR PRECIOUS WENDY..."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Throwing away the last ounce of respect for Dipper's privacy, Wendy furiously tore the envelope open and quickly read (and re-read) the contents in disbelief:

"TO DIPPER PINES,"

YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SUBMIT TO MY WILL, FOR I HAVE FOUND OUT "YOUR" GREATEST SECRET!

IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE SANITY AND WELL-BEING OF YOUR PRECIOUS WENDY, YOU WILL SURRENDER THE DEED TO THE MYSTERY SHACK!

DON'T WAIT TOO LONG, BOY! REMEMBER, THE LONGER YOU DELAY, THE WORST SHE'LL GET!

TIME IS TICKING AWAY!

SINCERELY YOURS,

G.C.G"

Wendy rose back to her feet, completely stunned by the tidal wave of emotions swelling in her small frame. A great anger rose from deep within. The neatly scribbled annotation she held was a ransom note to Dipper – _using her as bait_! Wendy couldn't believe the sight before her eyes. Someone was trying to blackmail her sweet-natured friend by threatening her safety, and by some trick of cruel fate, he wasn't even aware of it! She thought to herself, "Who would do such a thing?!"

Instantly, the redheaded teen had flashing visions of her newly revealed crush, _begging_ for her to believe his claims; _imploring_ her to not to leave him imprisoned and helpless in the woods.

Wendy sunk down to her knees as a sickening feeling hit her straight in the gut. "What have I done?"

Once more, her inner rage overthrew her misery. Shooting up, Wendy mangled the letter in her hand. She had _no_ intention of letting this go un-avenged. But who exactly was this "G.C.G.?" Wendy re-opened her ransom note, and took notice that the only demand was for the deed to Stan's Mystery Shack. She mused over why this person thought Dipper would have any control over such a thing – even if it was for her sake. She could picture Dipper running up his "grunkle," asking for his assistance in "saving Wendy," only to be shot down with a shrug of his shoulders and a not-so-subtle line like, "Eh…she _had_ a good run…"

Suddenly, someone popped into Wendy's consciousness. The only person that came to mind was that creepy chubby kid with the huge hairdo. While she had never met him face-to-face, Wendy had heard various stories from the Pines family. This boy was always messing with both Dipper and Mabel, giving them endless amounts of grief. Stan thought of the child as an annoyance, as he would constantly threaten him about taking of this dilapidated piece of land for some reason or another. That _had_ to be the answer!

Wendy glanced out the window once again; not to the forest's edge line where her wrongly accused friends were kept, but towards the main road out of town. Alongside the expressway, giant billboards seemed to act as a form of guide as tourists passed through. Her vision focused on a particular sign:

"LIL' GIDEON: CHILD PSYCHIC!"

Wendy stared at the obese visage, smiling and winking, while pointing with plump digits in a failed attempt of adorable fashion straight as _her_! He was seemingly mocking _her; _for falling prey to his sinister trap; for blaming Mabel and Dipper for his treachery!

The infuriated girl growled and slammed her fist down on Dipper's nightstand, making the lamp bounce. Seeing that her fury was blinding her, Wendy took a step back, and started taking deep breaths. She knew what she had to do: she had to make things right, no matter what.

Turning off the light, Wendy began to gather all of Dipper's love notes addressed to her, and returned them to their hiding place beneath the mess under the bed. She had to force herself to do so, as Wendy had a deep urge to take some of the priceless pieces with her (especially her song). However, she realized that despite this, they weren't really hers to take. There was _some_ reason that Dipper had chosen not to give these to her, and even though it killed her to leave them behind, Wendy had to respect his decision. Besides, hadn't she caused Dipper enough trouble for today?

Still grasping Gideon's note, Wendy flew down the staircase, her feet barely touching the ground. Hopefully, by the time she returned to the Pines twins, she could figure out a way to apologize and make things up to them (if they would let her…). As Wendy was about to step foot out the door, she paused. Her family mantra of revenge came to mind. For this, she hurried to her station in the Mystery Shack gift shop and explored the drawers beneath the counter. After a moment or so of searching, Wendy pulled out a huge, burlap sack. Wendy smiled to herself,

"I think…I'm going to make a small "detour" before getting back to the guys. Besides, it's not like anything's going to happen out there if I leave them waiting for an extra minute or so…" Wendy figured that her decision could easily place her back into the twins' good graces, especially when they see the end result.

With that, Wendy ran out the gift shop exit and towards her newly-appointed destinations…

"Think about it, Mabel…" Dipper suggested to his twin sister. "All of this terrible stuff happened when Wendy and I are considered "just friends," if that… Can you imagine how it would complicate things if she knew the truth about how I really felt?"

Mabel tried to look on the bright side of things, "But Dipper, that's not entirely true! What if it made everything even better? Things could end up being everything that you'd hoped for and more!"

Dipper shook his head, "Do you know what the chances are of that, Mabel? If anything, what if…what if it _scares_ her? What if it makes her see me as some sort of freak? What if she wants nothing to do with me afterwards? I…I just don't want to take that risk. Yeah, Wendy and I may never get as close as I want to be, but at the same time, at least she's still in my life somehow…"

"Dipper…" Mabel lamented. "You can't think like that!" She shook her brother repeatedly. "You'll spend the rest of your life thinking "if only," never knowing what could have been. Besides, if Robbie could gather the courage to tell Wendy how he felt, surely you can do the same!"

The young tween sighed at the mention of his gothic rival vying for Wendy's affections. "Please don't remind me of _him_…"

"Oh, come on, Dipper! I know Robbie's a big jerk, but he seems to make Wendy happy, right? And besides…"

Dipper looked at his sister as she stared in front of her, twisting her fingers nervously.

"…they _do_ look kind of cute together…"

The pint-size girl immediately closed her eyes, expecting a barrage of complaints and objections for her honesty. After a quiet moment later, she slowly opened an eye to see her brother looking down at the ground. Sadly, he turned to her,

"You just…you don't see him the way that I do…"

Mabel raised her brow at Dipper's comment.

"Yeah, they do look cute, but a lot of the time, it's for show. Better put, it's a show _for me_. I'll come into the room where Robbie and Wendy are casually hanging out, and then, things change…"

Mabel followed his every word, unsure of his meaning.

"Robbie will see me, and all of a sudden, he'll become overly affectionate. He'll put his arm around her. He'll start whispering sweet nothings into her ear, making her laugh and giggle uncontrollably. Sometimes…"

Dipper stopped to take a big gulp, trying his best to finish the rest of his theory.

"…he'll kiss her right in front of me! And afterwards, when Wendy isn't looking, he'll stare down at me with those dark eyes, and give me a devilish smile, making sure I had seen every second, reminding me that there's nothing I can do about it…"

Mabel placed her tiny hand on her plagued brother's shoulder for support when he rose up and smashed his fists against the top of the wooden pillar looking them hostage.

"It's not enough that he lords the fact that he's Wendy's boyfriend over my head. If anything…the thing that really kills me…is that Wendy has _no_ idea that he does so…"

Mabel watched as her brother's façade shifted from irate to browbeaten.

"When all of this is happening, she'll look up at him, her eyes full of warmth and admiration, and think that everything was for _her_! She'll have no clue that he did all of that to get to _me_!"

"Aw, Dipper…"

Dipper continued his story, "It's not just that! Anytime it seems like Wendy and I are having fun together, Robbie will appear out of nowhere to ruin things. Like what happened at the arcade the other day! Wendy took us to play some games, and yeah, we had a lot of fun. Then, of course, Robbie comes in and guilt-trips Wendy into shooing me away, as if she had some sort of "girlfriend duty" to uphold. He made me out to be some sort of third wheel. How could I be if _she invited me_ before he was a thought in her head? It's not like I follow them around on dates or anything like that…"

Mabel turned her head, "You _don't_ follow them around on dates?"

Dipper rested his head against the wooden barrier, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mabel…but I'm being serious. He's only like this with me. I mean, he doesn't get all jealous in front of any of Wendy's other guy friends, like Lee, Nate, or Thompson…"

Mabel nodded along, remembering the weekend where she ran the Mystery Shack in Grunkle Stan's stead. Wendy's teenage friends basically lived in the gift shop alongside her, and yet, Robbie was nowhere to be found. Perhaps Dipper did have a point after all…

"…it's just me. _Only me _he does this to. And I can't even confront him about it because Wendy hates guys that fight. It's not worth risking losing her forever! It's bad enough that I don't have a chance to be with Wendy the way that I would want, but he's making it that I can't be with her in _any way_! And I only have until the end of summer to share memories with Wendy, Mabel; that's it! We don't know if we'll come back next summer, and even then, there's no guarantee that she'll still be here..."

As Dipper silently sulked to himself, Mabel reflected on the ironic twist in their stay at Gravity Falls. She had come to the sleepy mountain town in hopes of finding an "epic, summertime romance" (to which she had accomplished many times over), and yet, here was her slightly younger brother who was trying to fight tooth and nail to do the exact same thing! She just had to say something comforting…

"Dipper…Dipper…Dipper…" Mabel explained. "I think you're giving Robbie more credit than he deserves…"

The defeated boy rose to attention, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Dipper, just because Robbie's older than you doesn't mean that he's more mature than you are. Did you ever think that maybe, he's just as afraid of _you_ as you are of him…"

Awe-stricken by Mabel's opinion, Dipper honestly thought about what he had just heard. Then again, the memory of Robbie effortlessly throwing him into the garbage in front of the Mystery Shack seemed to damper that theory.

"Maybe you're right, Mabel. I know it seems silly, but in the back of my mind, I keep thinking what if everything was the opposite. What if I was a sixteen year old going out with Wendy, and a little twelve year old started making "goo-goo eyes" at her? I keep telling myself that it really wouldn't bug me that much. If anything, I would probably find it to be somewhat cute and adorable. Either way, I definitely know that I wouldn't spend every ample moment trying to drag the small fry through the dirt, especially when I know he wouldn't be around forever…"

Mabel, using a bit more force in her voice, tried to encourage her love-struck, yet sensible sibling. "Then, Dipper, the only way to stop that is to tell Wendy the truth about everything. I'm not saying that you'll succeed, but it's the best chance you have! You gotta do it, Dip! Before it's too late!"

Failing to be inspired by Mabel's reassurance, Dipper let out a deep heave,

"Isn't it _already_ too late, Mabel? I mean, look at us, locked into this thing! Wendy hates us; she hates _me_! And I don't know how to change-"

Suddenly, Dipper was interrupted by someone (or something) rustling in the bushes straight ahead. As seconds passed, more surrounding shrubbery began to vibrate loudly as well. How big was this thing?

Scared, Mabel clinged to her brother, "Dipper…what is that?"

He looked down on her, "I'm not sure…but whatever it is, it's coming right for us!"

_*written and performed by Brendan Steere/Free Parking_


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper and Mabel held each other in fright as the crackling in the forestry before them increased tenfold. It was bad enough that they knew of the many strange and life-threatening creatures that inhabited the woodwork, but to make matters worse, they were sitting ducks, due in thanks of their friend, Wendy. Convinced that they were guilty of playing a cruel and rather painful prank on her, the lumberjack-outfitted teenager had locked their feet into a "kid-sized" pillory, leaving the twins unable to escape from the upcoming danger.

All of a sudden, tiny blurs started to rush out of the bushes, aiming straight for the imprisoned pre-teens. Totally unaware by the creatures invading, both kids closed their eyes and wailed a cry, awaiting the consequences to which they had no escape. After a moment, the area had grown incredibly silent. _Too silent_! In curiosity, they re-opened their eyes, letting go of their embrace, and tried to see what happened to the phenomenon before them.

"Well, well, well…lookie at what we have here…"

The Pines twins scanned over the open area, unable to find the source of the voice that was seemingly mocking them. As if the thought hit them simultaneously, they pushed off the top of the stocks, leaning over to see over the other side.

Staring and pointing up at them were five miniature forest gnomes; five _familiar looking_ forest gnomes.

Mabel groaned to herself, "Oh, no! Not you guys!"

The leader, dressed in simple red and blue clothing shot back, pointing at each one of his entourage, "Oh, yes, my dear! It's us: Jeff! Steve! Carson! Jason! And…"

Running his stubby fingers through his brown beard, Jeff stumbled his way, trying to remember the identity of his fifth cohort, "Uh…what was it, again? Smithy? No, that's not it…" The unnamed green and light blue dressed man seemed to frown at being forgotten yet again.

In annoyance, Mabel banged the wood barrier holding her hostage with her tiny fists. "Geez Louise! It's Shmebulock! Shmebulock!" The small girl crossed her arms. "Heck, I met you guys only once, and even I knew that!"

She turned to the crossed-eyed gnome, "How can you stand working with this guy?" The creature merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Enough!" the ringleader interrupted. "The point is that we have been waiting for a chance to get "our queen" back and by a stroke of luck, here you two are…"

Dipper pinched the area above his nose as he was getting a headache. After everything that he had been through today, the very last thing he needed was to deal with the love-struck gnomes again.

"Look, guys…" he lamented. "We're kinda in the middle of something here, and I'm not in the mood to deal with you guys. Is there any way you could come back later?"

"What do you think? You have insulted the powerful gnome race, and for this, we have sworn vengeance!" The small man began to wretch his hands together, "And we definitely plan to take back what is rightfully ours!"

Mabel realized what the gnome leader truly meant as she watched as the ten eyeballs forced squarely on her.

"Hey, now…" she tried to backpedal. "We've been over this, remember? Yeah, I had a lot of fun with you guys, but that's in the past! I've moved on! I've met new people! You should do the same! You'd be a lot happier! Might I recommend trying some sort of online dating? Preferably one that doesn't require pictures?"

Jeff scoffed at Mabel's suggestion. "If you really felt that way, you would have given back the ring that we gave you!"

Dipper gave his sister a dirty look. "What!" Mabel shouted, lifting her shoulders innocently. "It was pretty!"

The tiny figure came closer, "This is your last chance, Mabel! Agree to be our queen…or else…"

The small girl lowered herself as much as the restraints would allow her, "Or else…_what_?"

Jeff pointed towards the plucky tween, "Boys...get to it!" Mabel watched as the other four gnomes started to close in on her. Suddenly, she came to a realization. The gnomes' leader wasn't pointing at her directly behind the wooden barrier. He was aiming towards her exposed, super-petite feet sticking out on the other side!

"Wait a sec, there! What do you think you're-"

All of a sudden, she began to feel _it_. A pair of digits began to drag themselves against Mabel's sole, making her buck in reflex until the stocks stopped her still. She let out a giant guffaw, making her brother raise an eyebrow to her suddenly giddy nature. Seconds later, another set of fingers were felt on her other foot, playing a game of "This Little Piggy" with her toes.

"Ahh!" the girl screamed, struggling to reach over the other end. Mabel tried to shoo away the invaders bent on torturing her. Her sweatered arms barely missed the two gnomes as she spied more coming towards her. Mabel threw herself back as much as the pillory allowed, trying in vain to escape from the gnomes' adventurous fingers.

"EEEP! *hehehehe* STOP IT! I'm not *snort*JOKING!" She turned to her brother, still watching over her in confusion.

"Dipper, the-they'r-they're _tickling_ me! *HAHAHAHA* Make them stop!"

Before he could react, Jeff made an offer to the giggling girl:

"I _can_ make it stop, Mabel…_if_ you agree to be our queen!"

The strong-willed adolescent shook her head repeatedly, "NEVER!"

The lead gnome placed his hands on his hips, and continued to shout orders to his troops. "Keep going, boys! She'll crack sooner or later!"

"We'll see about that!" Mabel shouted back through a series of chortles and titters as more fingernails nipped at her heels. Even though Wendy had placed her into this predicament, Mabel began to experience empathy for her older friend. This is what she must have experienced the other night. No wonder she was bent out of shape about it! In a weird sort of irony, Wendy did get her wish. Now, Mabel felt the exact same way that she did!

"Besides…" the tiny trooper strained through clenched teeth. "I'll never break! I've been taught by the best!" She turned to give Dipper an adoring look as more fingers explored her bare feet, making her wince uncontrollably. What the gnomes were putting Mabel through at this second was _nothing_ when compared to what her twin used to do when they had their vicious "wars." After all, there was a reason to why a truce was originally called…

Snapping out of his disbelief, Dipper quickly took off his blue and white cap and started whaling it around like a weapon. He continuously swung at the monstrous creatures, reaching further and further in spite of his bound legs.

"Get lost, creeps! Leave her alone!"

Dipper pulled back as the creatures focused their attention on the tenacious boy, hissing at his attempts to defend his slightly older sister.

"And you, my boy…" Jeff finally addressed Dipper. "Don't think for a second that we have forgotten about you…" The gnome pointed straight at the tween as he reequipped his hat. "After all, it is _your fault_ that our precious queen got away in the first place!"

Dipper maintained his stance, "And what of it?!" The child wondered to himself if the gnome's delusional state towards his sister could be compared to his over-the-top crush on Wendy. After a moment, he shook his head, in an attempt to fight the negative thoughts.

"NO! I'm nothing like _that_! I wouldn't force her to do anything she didn't want to! And I definitely wouldn't kidnap and torture her to get my own way! Even if she did do this to me…"

Dipper came back to reality as the head gnome spoke to him again.

"Well, you deserve to be deal with!" With that, he snapped his fingers. "BOYS!"

Suddenly, another group of gnomes came barreling out of the woods. Each pair of eyes were locked on the constricted teen detective.

"Sorry, guys!" Dipper warned, glancing at his still-chuckling sister. "That stuff might work on Mabel, but it definitely doesn't on me. You're welcome to try…" He laughed to himself. Wendy wasn't the only one who had developed a form of _tickle resistance_! To Dipper's surprise, Jeff was actually laughing along with him.

"Oh, that's precious! He thinks we're _not_ going to hurt him!"

Dipper raised his brow, "What?!"

"Show him, guys!"

Dipper watched in horror as the newly arrived gnomes started to yank weapons out of nowhere! His eyes studied the various forms of pain afflictions that awaited him: rocks, rotten fruit, rakes, baseball bats, sharpen sticks, amongst other things.

"You see; you greatly misunderstand us, boy!" Jeff explained. "We would never hurt our dear Mabel! She's our queen after all! But you…you're nothing but an obstacle in our plans! Therefore…"

With that, the armed beings headed towards him ever so slowly.

A swelling feeling of panic began to rise in the young boy's chest. His vision began to sway and swoon, as it seemed to become awfully narrow. With his last ounce of strength, Dipper began to kick his feet and push against the stocks, hoping for a last-ditch attempt to escape his fate. Mabel's voice, mixed with laughter, became warped and distorted:

"Hey! *giggle* Back off my brother! DIPPER!"

As Dipper's vision began to blacken, he looked past the mob of weaponized gnomes to see their inciter staring back at him with his beady, black eyes. Just as he was about to fade to black, a familiar sounding shout cried out through the open forest area:

"GET AWAY FROM THEM THIS INSTANT!"

Jeff started to turn around, "And who's going to make us?" As soon as he looked up at the intruder, he stopped in his tracks and gasped, "YOU!"

All of a sudden, all of the gnomes retreated from in front of Dipper and Mabel, only to hide behind their fear stricken leader, whom was trembling in his boots.

With a little bit of life left, Dipper looked up to see his rescuer. Mabel stared ahead and inhaled at the sight before her.

"WENDY!" They said together. "You came back!"

The towering teenager stood defiantly in front of the legion of dangerous gnomes with one hand on her slender hip. For some reason, she held a burlap sack in her other, hoisting it over her shoulder in a "Santa Claus" like fashion.

After a minute of silent stand-off, Jeff took a couple of brave, careful steps towards Wendy.

"This doesn't concern you!" he announced. "Our business was concluded years ago! Leave us be!"

"No way, man!" Wendy denied the shorten leader. She pointed at Dipper and Mabel. "Those two _are_ my business, so if you have a problem with them, you have a problem with _me_!" Wendy lowered her eyes at Jeff, "…and I'm sure you remember how it went down the last time you had a problem with me…"

The worried gnome gulped and rubbed his shoulder nervously, taking a look behind him at Mabel. He looked back at Wendy. "But we _still_ need a queen!" the small man whined.

Unexpectedly, Wendy's eyes lit up as an idea shot into her head. She smiled down at the heartbroken gnome before her.

"What if I made you a better offer? What if we made a trade?"

Jeff was stunned by Wendy's comment, "Huh? What are you saying?"

Wendy placed the burlap sack on the ground. "I'm saying; let those two go, and I'll give you the "little lady" I have in the bag." Very carefully, Wendy bent down and opened the seal on the sack. All of a sudden, Lil' Gideon peeked out from the top. Struggling for breath, he angrily turned towards Wendy.

"You repulsive sow! How dare you –"

Wendy shoved the wicked boy back into the bag and quickly resealed the opening. She looked back towards Jeff for an answer, "Well?"

The gnome took a few steps forwards, "She's…_gorgeous_!"

Dipper and Mabel had looked at each other in confusion. Jeff immediately consulted with the other gnomes.

"Those bright eyes…"

"Those chubby cheeks…"

"See how fat she was? That must mean she can cook, right?"

The three adolescents watched as all the gnomes nodded in agreement. Jeff returned his attention to Wendy.

"So…do we have a deal?" The redhead offered her hand to the gnome standing before her.

"Deal!" They shook on it, and Wendy climbed back to her feet.

"Well…he's…err…I mean, _she's_ all yours!"

The gnomes instantly surrounded the sack, each taking a hold with their tiny hands. They started to drag the sack back into the forest, ignoring the muffled screams coming from within…

"That takes care of that!" Wendy said proudly, lifting her trapper hat from her brow using her thumb. As soon as the little monsters were solemnly out of view, Wendy ran towards her confined friends.

"Are you guys okay? I am so, so sorry that I didn't believe you guys…"

"Wendy…" Mabel stuttered. "That…was…INCREDIBLE! But why was Gideon here?!"

Wendy pulled the padlock key out of her pocket and started to fidget with the locks holding the twins in place, "Hmm? Oh! Turns out that he was behind everything that happened the other night. So, I decided to pay him a visit. After a _little_ chat, _we_ decided that he should spend the rest of the night in "time-out." Heck, as crazy as it sounds, it seemed like his mom was _happy_ to see him go! Weird, huh?"

After a giant *SNAP,* Wendy removed the padlock, and continued on with her story. "As I was bringing him out here, I saw that you guys were in trouble. I recognized those guys as the same group that tried to kidnap me when I was twelve. Back then, I was as tall then as I am now, so I easily kicked all of their butts…" Wendy punched and kicked the air as if she was shadow-boxing. "… and high-tailed it outta there. I knew it was them after hearing about that talk about a queen. So, I figured, kill two birds with one stone…"

"HA!" Mabel laughed at her former stalker's fate. "That's _our_ Wendy!"

Totally silent for the last few minutes, Dipper finally spoke up, "Yeah! *hehe* That's _my_ Wendy! I knew…I _just_ knew…you wouldn't …leave me– "

Both girls gasped in shock as Dipper's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he came crashing down face first onto the wooden barrier.

"DIPPER!" Wendy shrieked as she pulled him back, cradling him in her arms. Luckily, he didn't have so much as a bump on his forehead. Wendy turned towards Mabel, "What happened to him? What did they do to him?"

Mabel looked back with a quizzed expression on her face. "They really didn't do anything, except threaten him." Her brown eyes stared up at Wendy's bright green ones. "I guess it's the stress of everything that's happened today. He was freaking out quite a bit, even before the gnomes came…"

"Oh, man…" A huge shade of guilt clouded Wendy's mind. Holding Dipper up, she placed her ear against his tiny chest. She could feel him breathing shallowly. His heartbeat was faint, but responsive. Did she send Dipper into shock?

"I think…" Wendy guessed. "I think…he's going to be alright!"

Strangely enough, Mabel smiled at her friend's claim. "Of course he's going to be alright! It's Dipper that we're talking about! He always makes it through!"

"Yeah, I guess…" Wendy muttered with a guilty conscience. Something just didn't seem right. She called over to Mabel, "Hold him up while I let you guys out, okay?"

Mabel reached over and held Dipper in her arms while Wendy left his side. Feeling playful, Mabel took her index finger and pulled it against his chin, making his lips move as if he was a life-size ventriloquist's dummy:

"Duh…Wendy, you saved me! You're my heroine! Let me give you a big, sloppy kiss! *MWAH!* *MWAH!*"

The little girl was amused by her brother being totally unaware of her mockery. Wendy, on the other hand, had missed Dipper's forced confession for she was lost in her own thoughts. A particular scene kept replaying in her mind: Dipper, trapped in the stocks, pleading with her to believe him; _begging_ her not to leave him like that. Now, that she knew the truth about everything, Wendy felt like a fool. She had let down this boy, whom was probably her greatest admirer, over something incredibly silly and meaningless like her damaged pride.

Wendy finally unlatched the top of the pillory, releasing the twins. Mabel pulled her feet back, stood up, and stretched. She sighed happily to herself, "Ah! Freedom!" Unwittingly, she had let go of her unconscious brother, who started to fall from the device.

"WHOA!" Wendy dove to catch the failing Dipper. She hoisted his body on the cushioned seat. Making sure he was somewhat stable, she turned to Mabel.

"Hey, kiddo? Do me a favor?" She pointed into the woods. "Just pass the first bunch of trees, I hid the picnic basket from earlier. Inside, I left your guys' shoes and socks. Could you grab everything and bring it back for me, please?"

Mabel saluted the teen, "Aye-aye!" and left in search of her belongings.

Now alone with her secret admirer, Wendy gently slapped his cheek, "C'mon, Dipper! I need you to wake up…_please_?"

A blank expression covered the pre-teen's face.

Wendy bit her lip, thinking about how to revive her friend. Abruptly, the love notes he had written started to come to mind. Wendy wondered to herself if she could use that to her advantage.

She leaned in closer and whispered to the unconscious boy, "Okay, Dipper…I'll make you a deal: you get up right now, and I promise, we'll go to the movies. Just me and you! My treat! Heck, we'll hit up every summer blockbuster if you open your eyes…RIGHT NOW!"

Dipper remained expressionless. Wendy's concerns deepen vastly.

"All right! All right! New deal!" Wendy attempted again to bribe her comatose friend. "If you give me a sign that you're okay, I promise to take you dancing. I swear it, kid; we'll dance the night away! Just the two of us! I won't stop until my blisters have blisters! What do you say?"

He persisted against any sort of change. Tears were staring to gathering in her green eyes.

"Come on, Dipper! Please do _something_! _Anything_!"

A desperate notion crossed her mind. Still holding Dipper, Wendy turned around, checking both sides behind her to ensure that they were alone. She guessed that Mabel was still out looking for the basket. Without a second thought, Wendy gently removed Dipper's hat, held up the brown bangs covering his brow, and planted a short, but sweet kiss upon his forehead.

Wendy pulled back, hoping that a peck from his "love" would do the trick. After all, it seemed to be the answer in a whole bunch of fairy tales. Precipitously, Wendy noticed that very slowly, Dipper's lips curled to that of a small smile.

Satisfied, Wendy looked down on her young companion with a sigh of relief. "I guess that'll do for now…"

Unaware to Wendy, her heartwarming actions were indeed observed. After retrieving her possessions, Mabel had hidden herself behind a tall tree. She watched in quiet awe as the strong-willed teen beseeched with her brother's form, offering to fulfill many of his dreams just for a simple response. She had to cover her mouth to stop from squealing aloud when she viewed Dipper's first kiss. However, Dipper's speech about "cruel fate" came to mind, for in reality, he'll never really know the truth. Even if she was to tell him, would he believe her?

Mabel quickly slid on her socks and slip-ons, and rushed out of the forest to rejoin Wendy and Dipper. "I'm back!" she announced loudly, as if to draw attention away from the possibility that she might have been watching the events beforehand.

"Thanks a lot, Mabel!" thanked Wendy, as she took the picnic basket from her hands. She dug in, found Dipper's clothing, and gently replaced his footwear. She bent down to pick up his trademark cap, returning it onto his head. Wendy smiled, somewhat comforted that Dipper was made whole again. She turned around and lifted the still child onto her back, wrapping his arms around her neck for better balance. Surprisingly, he was a lot lighter than Wendy had pictured.

Wendy looked down at Mabel, who was justly charmed by the adorable scene before her, "Hey, short-stuff? Whatdya say we'd get out of here? I'll come clean up later?" Mabel gleefully nodded and proceeded to walk alongside Wendy towards the Mystery Shack. After a few minutes of quiet solitude, Mabel presented a question:

"Hey, Wendy? If you don't mind me asking; how exactly did you find out that Gideon was behind everything?"

"Actually…" Wendy hesitated at first, wondering if telling the truth would make matters worse, but figured that after everything that had happened, the pre-teen girl deserved her honesty. "…I dropped off that golden key thing that Dipper had, when I noticed this note sticking out from under his bed. It was some sort of ransom blackmailing Dipper, saying that I was going to suffer unless he surrendered the Shack, or something like that…"

"Wow…" Mabel shivered. "Creepy…"

"Yeah, tell me about it! That means the little freak actually _touched_ me! And I didn't even know it! How do you think that makes me feel?" Wendy looked down at the dirt road ahead, "At least I learned the truth about that…_and other things_…"

"Oh…" said Mabel, before realizing Wendy's true intent. "Ohhhh!" She turned to look straight at her younger brother, resting soundly on his crush's shoulders. "You mean…Dipper…"

"Yep, poor, little guy…hey, wait!" Wendy exclaimed, eyeing the young braced girl. "You mean, _you knew_?"

Mabel returned a confused stare, "You mean, _you didn't_? I thought _everyone_ knew!"

Wendy blushed at Mabel's proclamation. Was it really that obvious? If so, how could she have missed it?

"Everyone knew, eh?"

"Pretty much…Stan and I usually bust his chops over it all the time. Soos is impartial to it, for some reason. Heck, why do you think Robbie picks on Dipper so much?"

A literal door opened inside of Wendy's mind. Suddenly, a lot of unanswered questions instantly became fulfilled, especially when concerning Robbie and Dipper. She had actually thought it was just a case of "boys being boys." Another question from Mabel interrupted Wendy's thoughts:

"So…what are you going to do now…now that you know?"

Wendy's dimpled cheeks became flushed. She turned slightly to see Dipper still wrapped around her frame.

"I'm…I'm not sure…I mean I like the little guy a lot; I really do! But this…everything's so sudden. And not to mention complicated! Like what about Robbie? I'm just…"

As Wendy was at a loss for words, Mabel tried her best to give them to her:

"Is it like, you can't exactly say "_yes_" right now, but you definitely don't want to say "_no_?"

Wendy raised her head, "Yeah! It's like that!" She turned to her friend, who was seemingly wise beyond her years. "You know, you're pretty good at this kinda thing…"

Mabel gave off a shiny-braced smile. "I know! Besides, who do you think Dipper comes to when he needs "Wendy-eccentric" advice?"

"Huh? Interesting…" Wendy was rather fascinated with both Mabel's hidden level of maturity as well as the fact that she had an adjective named after her. After a moment of silence, Wendy started again,

"Well, with that being said…would you think it would be a bad thing…if I waited for _him_ to come to _me_ about _this_?"

"Hmm…" Mabel put her small hand to her chin as she thought about Wendy's question. She remembered Dipper's own uncertainly only a few minutes ago. What would happen if she told Wendy to confront Dipper, only for him to deny her in a state of fright? The whole experience would have been for nothing!

"I think…I think that's a great idea…as long as you remember one thing…"

"Oh?" Wendy questioned, raising an eyebrow to Mabel's condition. "And what's that?"

Mabel walked closer to Wendy's side, and placed a small hand against her shoulder. She looked up at her still-unconscious brother.

"Never forget that no matter what, he always tries _his absolute best_ for _you_…"

Mabel's comment made the older redhead beam. "Kiddo, that's one thing you'll _never_ have to worry about!"

Nodding happily along, Mabel cheerily chirped, "Good!"

Feeling guilty for all of the great advice the pre-teen had given her, Wendy implored Mabel yet again, "You know, Mabel. I know I said it earlier, but I wanted to apologize to you for everything that has happened these last few days. It seems like you kinda got dragged along with the ride, huh?"

"Don't worry about it, Wendy!" the high-spirited tween reassured her. "I guess these things just come with the territory..." Even though Mabel did poke fun at her brother's puppy-love, she wasn't so cruel as to give up his entrusted secret in order to save her own hide.

"Still, I guess we can call it a "no harm, no foul," huh?"

"Yeah…" Mabel laughed off, only to mutter under her breath sarcastically, "…_except for the three counts of kidnapping and child endangerment_…"

"Did you say something, Mabel?"

Mabel replied in a happy tone, "Oh, nothing! Hey, there's the Shack coming up! YAY!" Mabel took sped off in excitement towards home, leaving Wendy and Dipper behind.

While in solitude, Wendy reflected on the past few moments. While Mabel had helped her decide what to do about Dipper's hidden feelings towards her, what about Dipper himself? Throughout the trip back to the Mystery Shack, she was constantly reminded of his presence, as Wendy felt the warm breath of the slumbering, worn-out boy against her neck as she carried him home.

"_I did this to him_…" The message flashed constantly through her remorseful mind. "_I made this happen to him_…"

Wendy was glad that Dipper appeared alright physically, but wondered about his inner scars. Would things even be the same between the two? The question cut deeply into Wendy, especially now that she was presented with all of this new information: that in Dipper's eyes, they were closer than "work buddies." Had she completely and utterly destroyed something _beautiful_ before even realizing that it was there?

As Wendy continued her journey to bring Dipper home, she pledged to find a way to fix things. She swore to try her best to make things right between her not-so-secret admirer and herself …


	4. Epilogue

A few days later, Dipper Pines was lying on his orange-covered bed in his attic-converted room, studying the contents of his secret journal labeled #3. His twin sister Mabel had gone to a late-minute sleepover with her friends from town, Grenda and Candy. Soos and Grunkle Stan had to go into town to get a few supplies for the Mystery Shack. Dipper had the entire Shack to himself…

…except for Wendy working downstairs in the Gift Shop, attending to her closing duties…

It had been weird few days for the young pre-teen. After the incident in the woods, Dipper found himself in bed, unaware of how exactly he had gotten there. Mabel, sitting at his bedside, explained how Wendy came to their rescue from the gnomes, and revealed that Lil' Gideon was the mastermind behind the strange events that occurred over the last few days. She also told Dipper in great depth of how Wendy carried his spent form with love and care back to his room (being mindful to omit the detail of his first kiss, in respect of Wendy's wish to have Dipper admit his feelings firsthand).

Mabel had to bite her cheeks as she decided against telling her brother what else happened while he was asleep; how Wendy sat beside her in constant vigil over Dipper. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl as the two girls silently kept guard over their favorite young detective. After a few hours, Wendy unexpectedly stood up and began to head for the door. When questioned by her metal-mouthed friend, she simply turned to look at the slumbering boy with a sadden expression,

"Perhaps..._I shouldn't_ be the first face he sees when he wakes up..."

Mabel tried to argue with the lanky teenager, "But..." However, Wendy was already down the rickety staircase, making her way back home.

The plucky pre-teen theorized that Dipper must have had a form of panic attack due to the incredible amount of stress that plagued him within a short amount of time. Somewhat embarrassed, Dipper shooed away Mabel's concerns, pledging that he was definitely alright now.

As the days past, he had seen Wendy while working in the Shack, but unfortunately, both sides had very little to say to each other. Besides a small wave here and there, and a casual "hi" and "bye," nothing of extreme importance had been said. Maybe Wendy was just as lost in words as Dipper was, but somehow, he severely doubted it.

While he was extremely glad that he (and Mabel) was finally clear of all charges, something was left lingering in Dipper's mind. It's not that he didn't appreciate the save by his secret love, but at the same time, he was not ignorant of why he ended up in that position in the first place. All of this happened because despite his pleading and begging, Wendy refused to believe his claims.

He wasn't even angry or upset at nearly being mauled painfully by a pack of bloodthirsty, vengeful gnomes. If anything, the fact that Wendy simply did not trust him heavily wounded him. He tried his best to see things from her perspective, being faced with a story involving impossible and unlikely odds. Would he have believed her if everything was the opposite? Would it have been a case of love conquering all things? The more Dipper thought about it, the more heartbroken he became.

More than anything, Dipper wished to himself that things would just go back to normal, as it was before Stan opened that darned exhibit; back then he believed Wendy and himself were growing closer and closer with every day spent together. All he wanted was a clean slate; to be able to trust in her again, and for Wendy to do the same.

As Dipper sat with the tome leaning against his crossed legs, his ears perked up as he could have sworn to hear a faint cry echo through the empty cabin. After staying still for a second, Dipper returned to his studies until he heard another moan; this time it was _his_ name!

Shocked, Dipper sat up, placing the book to the side. He went his window to observe the starry night sky. He watched as the wind wrapped itself around the towering treetops, making them twist and turn violently. Was it merely the wind howling, trying to mess with his mind?

Dipper took his journal and went to place it into the bookcase against the wall. He figured that the haunted text was making his imagination run wild. As he stood on his tip-toes to reach the top shelf, a third scream resonated itself…this time from inside the house!

"HELP! IS ANYONE THERE?!"

The young tween jumped back in terror, dropping the journal into the floor. That time definitely wasn't fantasy! Slowly, Dipper headed out of his room, heading towards the staircase leading downstairs. As he reached the first step, something began to violently thrash. With every step Dipper took, the sound became louder. Upon reaching the base of the stairs, another plea filled the quiet air:

"PLEASE! CAN SOMEONE HEAR ME?! I NEED HELP!"

Dipper hurried through the family room, being careful to enter the darkened hallway as the loud banging continued on. As he rounded the corner, he looked upon an odd sight. There was a pathway of lights fading into Stan's "Famed Torture Devices of Medieval Times" attraction, as if it was leading the way to his destination. A sense of déjà vu hit Dipper as he traveled closer to the source, for it reminded him of Mabel's prank at the site's opening, making him believe that Wendy was in danger. His thoughts were jolted with another appeal:

"HELP ME! WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!"

Taking a large gulp, Dipper shouted back to the distressed voice,

"W-W-Who's in there?"

His eyes shot open as he was quickly answered:

"DIPPER? IS THAT YOU?"

Upon recognizing the voice, Dipper bravely charged into the empty room. As he did before, he scanned the entire room for the sound of the voice. In the right-hand corner, he discovered the source of the cries for help. While he smiled at correctly guessing its' identity, he carefully approached the sight before him.

As if it was a form of mirror image from the other day, Dipper was once again staring at Wendy, who somehow that managed to get herself locked into a pair of stocks. She struggled to free herself, repeatedly kicking her restrained legs, until she raised her head to see the boy observing her.

"Dipper! I knew I heard you upstairs! Thank heaven you found me! I've been calling and calling! Listen, can you get me out of here, please?"

He immediately started to rush to Wendy's aid, until he stopped in his tracks. Something didn't seem right with this picture.

"Wendy…" Dipper questioned. "How exactly did you get caught in there again?"

He noticed that a sense of panic rose to her face for a split second, and then Wendy rolled her eyes, as if to make it look like she was thinking of an answer.

"Actually…Stan asked me to dust this place before I took off for the night. I climbed up to reach the back of this thing, when suddenly, the top shut right on top of me, pinning me in. Crazy, right?"

"Huh…" Dipper pondered to himself, trying to find holes in the redhead's story. He looked forward to further study the scene in front of him. He noticed the familiar looking pair of tiny, milk-white bare feet squirming in vain to escape from their trap.

"Say…what happened to your boots, Wendy?"

Again, a surprised look appeared across Wendy's visage, as if she wasn't expecting to be asked that question. Wendy seemingly forced an annoyed expression towards the inquisitive child.

"Dude, what's the big deal? I was standing all day at work, and my feet hurt, so I took them off. Now, are you coming over here or not?"

Wendy's comment made Dipper even more suspicious. Something was definitely wrong. Was he walking into another trick? The pre-teen spied another wary detail. Smirking defiantly, Dipper crossed his arms and replied to his secret crush,

"No!"

Wendy's eyes widen at his refusal to help her. "What do you mean, '_no'_?"

"I mean, why can't you let yourself out?" He pointed to the side of the stocks. "There isn't anything holding the latch down like last time. Can't you just reach over and flip the switch?

Instead of getting mad, Wendy smiled sheepishly at her doubtful friend, "I would do that, but…" She lowered her head and raised her arms. Dipper perceived that something was binding Wendy's hands together.

"Are those…handcuffs?"

"Yeah…" the girl sighed embarrassed. "I was playing around with these guys and accidentally snapped them on. Only problem is that I misplaced the keys. _That's_ why I can't reach the latch. Now, will you _please_ help?"

Feeling guilty for doubting his friend's grave misfortunes, Dipper started to head closer to the imprisoned teen until something on the metal shackles caught the corner of his eye.

"Wendy, they're _fakes_! I can see the quick releases on the ends!"

"Umm…" she bit her lip in nervousness, not sure how to response to the boy's claims.

Aggravated, Dipper tossed his arms in the air, "Look, I'm not sure what's going on here, Wendy? Is this another prank or something like that?"

"No, Dipper. It's not…"

"What? Is Mabel going to jump out wearing a monster costume or something like that?"

"You don't understand…"

"I'm gonna go, okay? Sorry, but I'm just not in the mood for…whatever _this_ is!"

As Dipper started to head out the door, Wendy finally dropped her façade.

"Alright! Alright! _I admit it_! Just…just come back, Dipper! _Please_?

Dipper froze in place as Wendy's voice shifted after that very last word. His gut instinct told him that she was starting to tell the truth. He came back in front of the stock to face the deceitful teen.

"This is the deal, okay?" Wendy started to explain. "I'm sorry, Dipper. I'm sorry for everything that's happened; that I didn't believe you; that I tricked you guys out in the woods. I should have known better, but I didn't act like it. For that, I am truly sorry."

Dipper's heartstrings started to loosen up a bit.

"So, yeah…" Wendy continued on. "You're right, I did do all of this purposely, but it wasn't a prank. I swear! I know that you have trying to avoid me the last few days, and to be honest, I don't blame you. That's why I set all of this up! I had to get you out of that room somehow!" Wendy lowered her green eyes and grinned at the stunned boy. "Besides, who else would come running to my rescue without a second thought?"

Dipper started to blush at Wendy's compliment, but still found himself with more questions.

"But, I don't understand, Wendy." He used his hands to highlight her current predicament. "Why go through all of this to do so?"

"Well…the way I see things, we never did finish _our_ game, did we?"

The confused pre-teen raised an eyebrow at her comment, "What?"

"Think about it, Dipper. _I_ won one round. _You_ won one round. That means we're at a tie-breaker, right? So…what are _we_ going to do about _that_?" With that, Wendy started to wiggle her toes at the boy, as if she was trying to gain his attention.

Dipper was at a loss for words. Finally, he was starting to get what Wendy was trying to say. For the life of him, he couldn't decide which was crazier: that Wendy thought that this was actually a good idea (considering that _this very scenario_ caused _so_ much trouble), or the fact that the tenacious freckled-faced girl went ahead and saw it through!

As Dipper came around to his bound crush, a repugnant aroma entered his nostrils, making him pulls away in disgust. "Ugh! What is that?" He looked at Wendy's feet stationed right in front of him, only this time, he noticed something different.

All eight digits had a layer of fresh plaid nail polish applied.

Wendy noticed Dipper looking at her coated nails. "Oh…that! Your sister did that earlier…" Using her cuffed hands, Wendy pulled herself up so that she could display her fingernails to the curious tween. Dipper lightly grasped her hands, seeing that they too, were outfitted in the same color.

"To make things up to Mabel…" Wendy started to elaborate. "…we gave each other spa treatments." She hoisted herself closer to meet Dipper face-to-face. "Do you know how hard is it to draw little smiley-faces on nails that are only "_this_" small?" Wendy used her fingers to demonstrate the difficulty of pleasing Mabel.

Dipper giggled at her expense. "Yeah…I'll bet…" Wendy felt particularly relieved that at long last, Dipper was finally smiling _at her_ once again.

"So, what do you say, slugger?" Wendy quizzed. "How about one last brawl to settle them all?"

Dipper looked up at the beaming dimpled-faced teen glancing down at him. Despite the silliness, it was a seemingly honest attempt to try to make things a bit better. What should he do?

Without saying a word, Dipper started to walk backwards from the sight in front of him. Afterwards, he turned and walked out of the room.

"DIPPER!" Wendy called after him. "WAIT!"

With a groan, Wendy threw her manacled fists down against the wooden barrier. She knew this was a stupid idea, but figured it would be worth a shot. She looked down at her wristwatch. It was getting pretty late. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go home, regroup, and try something different in the morning.

Wendy twisted her hands, trying to open the trick handcuffs she picked up at the drug store for a dollar. For some reason, no matter how many times she attempted to reach the latch to release the shackles, she amazingly could not hit it. Both switches seemed to be a mere millimeter away. Wendy wondered to herself if she had put them on backwards or something like that...

"You've…got…to…be…kidding me!" the defeated girl groaned through clenched teeth. After a few more moments of trying to escape from the toy's hold, Wendy gave up. "I'll figure this out once I'm out and about!"

Leaning over the top of the stocks, Wendy stretched with cuffed hands to unlatch the top half. As with the cuffs, the release seemed to be just out of reach. Wendy couldn't understand. She was able to reach over to lock the darned thing, so why couldn't she unfasten it now? Wendy raised her hands in silent horror.

It was the cuffs! With her hands locked together, she didn't have the same range as before. Wendy jinxed herself, for the small fib she told Dipper had ironically come true! She gasped in shock as she realized the truth, "Oh, nonononono!"

Wendy had unwillingly trapped herself without any hope of escape. Immediately, she shrieked to the top of her lungs:

"DIPPER! COME BACK, PLEASE! DIPPER! I'M REALLY STUCK HERE! I'M NOT KIDDING! I CAN'T GET OUT! PLEASE, DIPPER!"

Wendy sunk back into her seat, contemplating her fate. Perhaps this was a form of karma, paying her back for everything that she had done over the last week. She thought of using her cell phone to _really_ call for help, but quickly remembered that she left it on the gift shop counter. Wendy wondered to herself how long she was going to sit there before anyone would notice that she was missing? Her brothers were probably already in bed, and her dad was probably going to hang out at the Skull Fracture bar for the rest of the evening. Mabel was planned to be gone all night due to the sleepover. If her friends saw her like this, Wendy could picture herself quickly becoming an embarrassing internet meme within hours! Stan would probably leave her like this, purposely making her into a full time attraction, chalking it up to "learning a lesson about messing with the merchandise." The only chance she had was if stout-hearted Soos would find her first, but what were the odds of that happening?

The dejected girl slammed her head down on the wooden barrier, knocking her trademark trapper hat off her crown of red hair. Covering her eyes, Wendy knew that either way, she was doomed, at least for the near future. She had cried "wolf" one time too many, and now, she had to face the music for her actions. Wendy thought to herself about the ironic twist of fate, "Maybe I had this coming...maybe I deserve this..."

Suddenly, she began to hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet. With hope gathering, Wendy's vision shot up and towards.

Dipper was standing in front of her, with a small smirk on his face. His arms were behind his back, as if he was trying to hide something from her sight. Wendy sighed in relief as she realized as was the case before, he had never abandoned her. He merely retreated upstairs to gather something. But what exactly?

Without saying a word, Dipper started to walk forward, but at the last moment, shot away from Wendy's direction. Instead, he headed towards the tip jar, where Wendy once accepted donations for those who felt sorry for her forced role of damsel-in-distress (or those who stole a quick foot tickle or two). Standing on his tip-toes, Wendy watched as Dipper pulled out a few dollar bills and slid them into the jar. He turned to look at Wendy with an adoring smile on his face. Wendy, blushing a bit, returned the gesture and nodded in approval.

Dipper came back towards Wendy and parked himself in front of her stocked feet. She heard a shout from behind the pillory, "Ready when you are…"

Wendy shouted to her friend out of sight, "Take your best shot, champ!" With that, the gingered teenager clenched her face tightly and prepared for the worst…

The joined laughter of the two adolescents seemingly echoed throughout the quiet Oregon atmosphere; a small indication that not only had a broken bond been successfully repaired, but just maybe, was now strengthen as well…


End file.
